Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline for Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration for customers of Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) to December 31, 2017. Other financial institutions include microfinance banks (MFBs), mortgage banks and finance companies.

Consequently, effective January 1, 2018, all customers without BVN linked to their account should no longer be titled to debit operations, Tokunbo Martins, director, Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) supervision department of CBN, said in a circular.

The CBN had in a letter dated April 21, 2017, directed OFIs to enrol their customers on before July 31, 2017, conspicuously display notices sensitising customers on BVN in the banking hall, ensure that all new customers have BVN and forward to director of OFIs supervision department the schedule of customers’ accounts with BVN on August 7, 2017.

The letter also stated that effective August 1, 2017 customers of OFIs without BVN linked to their account shall not be allowed to withdraw from those accounts.

The deadline expired on July 31, 2017 and many OFIs were found in breach of the regulatory directive. Consequently, following appeals received from financial inclusion secretariat, the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), and members of Mortgage Bankers’ Association of Nigeria (MBAN) soliciting for a shift in the deadline to support better compliance and avoid further financial exclusion, the CBN decided to extend the deadline.

The various challenges encountered in the early stage of deployment of the joint CBN/NIBSS support to members of NAMB have also informed management decision says the CBN.